jwashing.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

Unhoused people face a litany of unfair criminal charges simply because they’re unhoused – usually for actions they take when just trying to survive. Clearly, the solution to homelessness is not more criminalization. No one should be punished for not having a place to stay.

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

I joined @democracynow.org now this AM to discuss my latest reporting for @azluminaria.bsky.social about the Venezuelan mom of 4 who was arrested after a traffic stop in Tucson. She and 2 of her kids were transferred to Border Patrol, and swiftly deported to Mx. www.democracynow.org/2025/2/19/ar...

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

“There’s no lower-hanging fruit than immigrants following the rules.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

Extremely concerning case here. A Venezuelan mom of four, who had her asylum case denied, is pulled over for “driving too slow” by state agents, transferred to Border Patrol and deported to Mexico where she had previously been kidnapped, apparently without access to counsel nor fear screening.

submitted 6 days ago • 1 comment

🚨 Update: we were able to track down Yesenia, the mother picked up with her 2 kids in Tucson. After a night of interrogation at Border Patrol station, the Venezuelan mother of 4 was deported to Mexico. Her husband and two of her kids remain in US. azluminaria.org/2025/02/16/v...

submitted 6 days ago • 20 comments

Venezuelan mom pulled over for driving too slowly in Tucson. Two of her four kids were in the backseat. State troopers called Border Patrol. That's the last her family and community has heard from them. It's been 3 days. W/ @yanak.bsky.social @cacuella.bsky.social azluminaria.org/2025/02/14/t...

submitted 8 days ago • 18 comments

Great piece on deportation flights by @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/i...

submitted 17 days ago • 0 comments

Pima County, which includes about 130 miles along the US-Mexico border, is issuing guidance to all county facilities (including libraries, parks, jail) to post signs demanding warrants from federal law enforcement officers. My latest for @azluminaria.bsky.social azluminaria.org/2025/01/29/n...

submitted 24 days ago • 1 comment

JUSTICIA!! No accountability for head of Mexican Migra (INM) in prosecution for criminal negligence in death of 40 migrants in Juárez detention ctr fire (March 2023) AMLO & Sheinbaum governments are joIntly responsible (please see further information at links below) www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F4j...

submitted 29 days ago • 1 comment

Thanks Dean, and tagging co-author @cacuella.bsky.social “We’re the spine of the migrant community here, and more and more migrants are a critical piece of this country,” one day-laborer told me.

submitted 31 days ago • 0 comments

"It’s got to be radical hospitality," Isabel García, one of the leaders of Tucson's Derechos Humanos advocacy group told me. Orgs leaning into mutual aid to protect migrants from coming crackdowns. With @cacuella.bsky.social, my latest for @azluminaria.bsky.social azluminaria.org/2025/01/22/m...

submitted 31 days ago • 0 comments

Spent today in Tijuana talking with folks affected by the end of CBPOne. I'm planning to put out a special edition of Beyond the Border this week (I know, I know, one week after launching and I'm already adding extras...) Make sure you're signed up here: beyondthebordernews.substack.com

submitted 32 days ago • 3 comments

I wrote about the CIA collaborating with University of Arizona officials and spying on Latino student groups in the 1960s. Based on recently declassified docs obtained by @joaquincastrotx.bsky.social and @gomez.house.gov My latest for @azluminaria.bsky.social azluminaria.org/2025/01/21/c...

submitted 32 days ago • 2 comments

“Our species’ survival has long been reliant on our ability to move across the landscape in search of resources and new habitats.” The most insightful sentence I've read for a long time. From Jason DeLeon book reviewed by @jwashing.bsky.social in NYRB. www.nybooks.com/articles/202...

submitted 33 days ago • 0 comments

Breaking: On its way out, Biden administration dumps news of 12 previously undisclosed deaths of migrants by Customs and Border Protection. Read this substack from @foiaroundnfindout.bsky.social. detentionkills.substack.com/p/afterjoe-b...

submitted 35 days ago • 0 comments

ACLU says the number of people detained during CBP's operation last week in Fresno and Kern counties, California could be closer to 192 rather than CBP's claim of 78 "It's causing growing fear amongst undocumented people who are now staying home from work and not sending their children to school"

submitted 36 days ago • 1 comment

Watch my full documentary on the Pima County jail, plus wisdom from @jesspish.bsky.social, David Markson, and Rachel Aviv on Alice Munro. My latest newsletter: johnwashington.substack.com/p/new-jail-d...

submitted 40 days ago • 0 comments

Border Chronicles interviewed me on what to expect from Border Patrol under this Trump administration. open.substack.com/pub/theborde...

submitted 40 days ago • 0 comments

Critical work from my colleague @chelcurtis.bsky.social, who just launched Arizona's first database dedicated to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit and Transgender People azluminaria.org/mmip-arizona/

submitted 40 days ago • 0 comments

Coming at you tonight, my first documentary, produced along with John DeSoto of @azpm.bsky.social A hard look at the ongoing crisis in the Pima County jail. Latest for @azluminaria.bsky.social Airing on PBS at 9pm and available online after. playpbs.azpm.org/show/death-b...

submitted 43 days ago • 1 comment

Arizona voters passed an anti-homeless ballot prop in Nov, but a closer look shows that promised tax refunds will be minimal, sometimes nil. Critics point out ineffectiveness, sometimes cruelty of approach to crisis. My latest for @azluminaria.bsky.social azluminaria.org/2025/01/09/m...

submitted 44 days ago • 0 comments

We're back 🦂 👋 with The Border Chronicle Forecast for 2025 A booming border chaos economy. Billionaires and algorithms support autocracy. The criminalization of immigration, and worsening water woes. But also good news: meet our new reporter! @cetracey.bsky.social @memomiller.bsky.social

submitted 46 days ago • 0 comments

"Every sheriff will tell you their jail is the largest hospital in the county... then why on earth is a law enforcement officer running it?" An interesting reframing of the role of sheriffs in this convo between @jwashing.bsky.social @jesspish.bsky.social azluminaria.org/2025/01/02/q...

submitted 47 days ago • 1 comment

Frightening and fascinating piece by @josh-kaplan.bsky.social for @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/ap3-...

submitted 49 days ago • 1 comment

Here is a gallery of images i compiled illustrating our work documenting the growth of surveillance at the US-Mexico border over the last year.

submitted 54 days ago • 0 comments

I talked to @jesspish.bsky.social about her crucial new book about sheriffs and their role in history, how poorly sheriffs run jails, and what to expect from them in the coming Trump admin. azluminaria.org/2025/01/02/q...

submitted 51 days ago • 1 comment

For those not paying attention to El Salvador now might be a good time to start. What has Bukele done that Musk says "needs to happen" in the US: Suspension of due process, total militarization of the country, mass arbitrary imprisonment, mass torture and death in custody...

submitted 51 days ago • 18 comments

Grief for a dying river: I wrote about a beautiful and wrenching new art exhibit at Tucson's MOCA: Graves for the Rain. Latest for @azluminaria.bsky.social azluminaria.org/2024/12/27/p...

submitted 55 days ago • 0 comments

Scoop🚨 Sheriff Mark Lamb failed to disclose a prior bankruptcy while incorporating his nonprofit. When we pointed that and other inconsistencies out to AZ Corporation Commission, they said they’d be dissolving the org. Latest for @azluminaria.bsky.social azluminaria.org/2024/12/20/s...

submitted 64 days ago • 3 comments

The best books of 2024: a short essay on my year in reading. My latest newsletter: johnwashington.substack.com/p/a-year-in-...

submitted 65 days ago • 0 comments

Self-serving politicians may want you to believe that violent crime is rampant and repeat offenders are to blame – but two things to remember: 1. Overall crime rates are at historically low levels 2. 74% of all jail bookings are for charges that are not "violent"

submitted 70 days ago • 1 comment

An honor to be interviewed for @nybooks.com about covering the border, my family history, and a run-in with a sheriff. www.nybooks.com/online/2024/...

submitted 70 days ago • 1 comment

1/ Here’s a story about how journalism works. Spoiler Alert: This is how we decide not to publish. We were recently looking at Pete Hegseth’s different statements over the years about West Point, where he has said he was admitted. First stop: West Point.

submitted 73 days ago • 89 comments

An 11-year-old girl was rescued off the coast of Lampedusa after spending three days alone at sea with no food or water, clinging to a pair of tire tubes. "We assume that she is the only survivor of the shipwreck and that the other 44 people drowned." Europe's violent borders working as designed:

submitted 73 days ago • 0 comments

As the Assad regime is crumbling, it's a good moment to remind people about what the current Italian government plus 7 other EU governments were trying to do until recently (normalising relations with Assad to send migrants back to "safe zones" in Syria). www.politico.eu/article/eu-m...

submitted 79 days ago • 4 comments

So today I did a thing -- I launched a newsletter on Substack. I've been working on this since the day after the election, when I sat down and thought about what I could best offer in this moment as an immigration reporter. I hope you'll check it out. open.substack.com/pub/beyondth...

submitted 81 days ago • 9 comments

If you're preternaturally revolted by festivals of spending such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday, you can duck the consumerism — and still participate in organized capitalist excess 😖 — by donating today to the non-profit media outlet where I work @azluminaria.bsky.social azluminaria.org/membership/

submitted 81 days ago • 0 comments

Help us send 2,000 books to readers who are incarcerated this winter through our Books Not Bars program

submitted 88 days ago • 39 comments

I made a border abolition starter pack: activists, academics, journalists and others posting content relevant to the struggle against borders and the system of global apartheid they enforce. Suggest other accounts to add in the comments below! go.bsky.app/ELcHWv8

submitted 88 days ago • 19 comments